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“Sole Provider: Dunn and McCarthy Shoe Company and the Legacy of Fred L. Emerson” at the Cayuga Museum through November 1st
This exhibit examines the history of the large shoe factory that was a fixture on Auburn's west side for more than a hundred years.
The Dunn and McCarthy story is very much the story of Auburn, as well as the story of American industrialization. Beginning with a contract to make shoes inside Auburn Prison in 1866, the company that became Dunn and McCarthy was a long-time leader in production, advertising and employee benefits. Thousands of the immigrant families, who made Auburn what it is today, worked at Dunn and McCarthy. The combination of good, steady work and free public schools helped many of these families achieve the ‘American Dream.’
Sole Provider examines what it was like to work in the shoe factory, what made the company so successful, and why so many employees stayed on for decades. Museum Curator Lauren Chyle designed large exhibit panels featuring scores of photographs to punctuate the story of the factory from its beginnings just after the Civil War to its closure in 1990.
Chyle and local videographer Peter Cramer interviewed former employees to create a documentary to further tell the story. The exhibit also explores the legacy of long-time Dunn and McCarthy leader Fred L. Emerson, who started the charitable foundation that bears his name. The legacy of the company and the foundation are visible in Auburn in many ways: Auburn Memorial Hospital, Cayuga Community College, Emerson Park, the Seward House Museum, and by the hundreds of local families who still live in houses purchased with wages from the shoe factory.
The Cayuga Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, Noon to 5PM. Admission is free, donations are gratefully accepted.
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